Access door for evaporative condensers



June 8, 1954 D. D. WILE ACCESS DOOR FOR EVAPORATIVE CONDENSERS Filed Oct. 3, 1949 lllllllllll m. m 4 1 MM 2 I n m E i u m M w W W M m w N u A 9 m. iv 4 m 2 lllllllllllllll 15 1 Patented June 8, 1954 ACCESS DOOR FOR EVAPORATIVE CONDENSERS Daniel D. Wile, Whittier, Calif., assignor to Refrigeration Engineering, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application October 3, 1949, Serial No. 119,321

I 3 Claims. 1

My invention relates to access doors for evaporative condensers or other cabinet structures, which contain a moisture or liquid-laden atmosphere. Included in the objects of my invention are:

First, to provide an access door which eliminates gaskets or fastened devices and is therefore so arranged that it may be opened or closed manually without the use of tools.

Second, to provide an access door for evaporative condensers or similar apparatus, which effectively prevents leakage of water or liquid from within the cooler to the outside thereof, even though the pressure within the cooler should be slightly higher than the external pressure.

With the above and other objects in view as may appear hereinafter, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an evaporative cooler incorporating my access door.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a side of the evaporative cooler or cabinet showing an access opening therein and illustrating in detail the construction of my access door, a portion of the door panel being broken away to show the door frame structure.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the door panel as viewed from its inner side.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of marginal construction for my access door.

Illustrated in the drawings is an evaporative cooler cabinet I or other cabinet containing moisture or liquid-laden atmosphere which it is desired to retain within the cabinet. One or more sides of the cabinet are provided with one or more access openings 2, the location and size of which is dependent upon the internal mechanism to which access is desired.

The top and two sides of each access opening is bordered by a channel member 3, the web of which is welded or otherwise permanently secured to the margins of the opening. The channel member includes a flange 4 extending normally to the surface of the cabinet wall and a second flange 5 which likewise extends normally to the wall of the cabinet, but the extremity of which is folded outwardly to define a plane parallel with the wall surface. The bottom margin of the access opening is provided with a trough structure 6 formed by a shelf member 1 having a downturned flange 8 welded or otherwise secured to the wall of the cabinet and 2 an upturned flange 9 extending parallel to the wall but folded at its extremities and welded thereat to the wall outwardly of the lower extremities of the channel member 3, which border the sides of the access opening. The shelf 1 is located below the lower margin of the access opening so that such lower margin forms a wall l0.

A door panel is formed of sheet material and folded along its top and side margins to form lips I2 in parallelism with the surface of the door panel. The lips 12 are adapted to fit over and receive the outwardly bent flanges of the channel members 3. The lower margin I3 of the door panel H projects into the trough structure 6 to a point below the wall Ill.

During operation of the evaporative cooler or similar device, liquid or moisture will collect in the trough structure 6 and form a liquid seal I 4 as indicated in Figure 3. This liquid seal will function even though the internal pressure is slightly higher than the external pressure. The pressure differential at which the liquid seal may function is, of course, dependent upon the height of the upturned flange 9.

The normal flange 4 of the channel member may bear against the inner surface of the door panel or be slightly spaced therein. The flange thus restricts the flow of moisture-laden air into the channel member so that the velocity across the channel is low enough to cause water particles to drop out of the air stream. Any moisture which may collect outwardly of the flange 4 tends to drain to the side portions of the channel member and return to the trough structure 6.

Handles i5 are provided on the door panel II. It will be observed that the door panel may be removed by merely lifting upwardly on the handies to lift the lips l2 from the flanges 4.

Reference is made to Figure 5. The upper or outer flange designated P6 of the channel member 3, may be obtusely related to the normal flange 4. In this case the folded margin or lips I! of the door panel diverge from the plane of the door panel in conformity with the flange [6.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An access door structure for cooperation with an access opening formed in a side of a cabinet containing a liquid-laden atmosphere, said door structure involving: channel members disposed along the top and side margins of said access opening and having a flange directed normal to said cabinet side and an outturned flange; a trough structure secured to the bottom margin of said opening and extending under the ends of said channel members; and a door panel having top and side margins folded upon themselves to fit over said outturned flanges, an inner surface of said door panel being in close proximity to said normally directed flanges to form a fluid seal, said dOOr panel having a lower margin adapted to enter said trough and immerse in a liquid contained therein.

2. An access door as defined in claim 1 wherein the lower margin of said access opening defines the inner edge of said trough structure and wherein the outer wall of said trou h truure extends upwardly above said lower margin whereby excess liquid in said trough will flow over said lower margin to the inside of said cabinet.

3. An access door structure for cooperation with an access opening formed in a side of a cabinet containing a liquid-laden atmosphere, said door structure including: a channel member including a web and inner and outer marginal flanges and fitted across the top and vertical margins of an opening in a side of said cabinet; a panel having marginal portions adapted to overlie said channel member in engagement with said flanges whereby the surface tension of water condensed between said flanges and said panel tends to form dual seals to minimize loss of moisture, said channel member conducting excess water trapped between said flanges to the lower extremities of its vertical side portions; and a water collecting trough extending along the lower margin of said opening and embracing said lower extremities of said channel member and arranged to receive the lower margin of said panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,147,885 Peabody July 27, 1915 1,209,657 Baker Dec. 26, 1916 1,290,771 Meadows Jan. 7, 1919, 2,2 1,59 stilwell May 21, 1940 2,223,762 Hall Dec. 3, 1940 2,316,321 Ditchfield Apr. 13, 1943 2,321,749 Howlett June 15, 1943 2,344,506 Gilpin Mar, 21, 1944 2,349,249 Desetti May 23, 1944 2,367,174 Renkin Jan. 9, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number fiountry Date 456,593 Great Britain Nov. 12, 1936 

